Posts from September, 2009

The Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) Rodeo Team competed this past weekend at the Sheridan College Rodeo.

Freshman Wyatt Clark, of Wellfleet, Neb., won third in the first round of the bareback riding and finished fourth in the average. Cody Sierks, of Brewster, Neb. placed fourth in the first round of the bull riding. “Wyatt and Cody continue to be consistent and that is so important on the regional level,” Jake Clark, EWC Rodeo Coach, said. “Every rodeo counts.”

The Lancers had two student athletes finish in the top ten of the steer wrestling. They were Logan McDonald, of Hemingford, Neb. and Jake Kraupie, of Bridgeport, Neb. For the women’s team, freshman Charlie Opela, of Stapleton, Neb., finished second in the short round and second in the average in the breakaway roping. Sophomore Kaylee Moyer, of Simla, Colo., finished fourth in the short round and fourth in the average in the goat tying.

“The women’s team is starting to establish themselves just finishing ten points out of first at Sheridan’s rodeo,” Clark said. “I feel really good about their chances this year.” The EWC Lancer Rodeo Team will compete at the Lamar College Rodeo in Lamar, Colo. Oct. 2-4.

The Eastern Wyoming College Lancer rodeo team members recently traveled to Riverton, Wyoming to compete in the annual college rodeo.

Sophomore Cody Sierks, Brewster, NE, finished first in the short round and 3rd in the average in the bull riding.

Freshman Wyatt Clark continues to earn points in the bareback riding. He placed 4th in the 1st round and 5th overall.

Gus Cross, Torrington, WY, was 4th in the short round of the steer wrestling and 5th overall.

“Cody and Wyatt continue to be very consistent in their events. Many of the other athletes are starting to break the ice and get things rolling looking forward to Sheridan this weekend,” added Coach Jake Clark.

Eastern Wyoming College has received confirmation that a residence hall student has tested positive for the H1N1 (swine) flu virus. The student is recovering at home.

EWC is closely monitoring the H1N1 flu situation and has taken several precautions to prevent its spread on campus. Signs and posters have been distributed that focus on hand-washing, and hand sanitizer and wipes have been placed in common areas on campus including the cafeteria and student center.

The Physical Plant at the College has purchased a large quantity of Hepacide Quat II disinfectant. This is used for daily cleaning of all door knobs, handles, railings and bathroom fixtures. All classroom desks, tables and chairs are disinfected at least twice per week. Cafeteria tables are done daily.

Extra cleaning is also taking place in the EWC Fitness Center. Handles on all equipment are cleaned several times a day by Fitness Center staff, disinfecting wipes are available for members to use on the equipment, members are encouraged to use towels between them and the equipment, and to wear t-shirts and long shorts.

A designated H1N1 flu information site has been created on the EWC website. The address is http://ewc.wy.edu/current/h1n1.cfm.

The Eastern Wyoming College Lady Lancer volleyball team will play for Breast Cancer Awareness. The game will be held on Tuesday, October 6 at 7:00 p.m. in the Verl Petsch, Jr. Gymnasium. The Lancers will be playing Laramie County Community College.

All who attend are encouraged to wear pink. All gate receipts and EWC’s share of the 50/50 raffle will be donated to the local chapter of Breast Cancer Awareness and Research. The Mammography Center from Banner Health will have a display available.

Immediately following the game, the Lady Lancer volleyball players will be autographing this season’s poster. Attendees are invited to stay and meet the players.

For more information about this Think Pink event, please contact Verl Petsch, Athletic Director and Coach at 307.532.8248.

The Eastern Wyoming College Fine Arts Council presents Moosebutter. They will be performing on October 8 at 7:00 pm in the EWC Fine Arts Auditorium in Torrington, Wyoming. Tickets are available at the Community Education office or by calling 307.532.8213.

Moosebutter is a comedy vocal quartet that specializes in unique community entertainment. Part vocal ensemble, part street-theater, and part rock band, Moosebutter is known for their crazy, wacky, spontaneous musical humor. They deliver a hilarious musical experience that the whole family can enjoy. Moosebutter also wears flattering red track suits just in case a stray Frisbee game breaks out during one of their concerts.

Eastern Wyoming College will receive $122,665 under the Carl D. Perkins IV allocative grant for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. Grant manager for the project is EWC Workforce Development Director Dru Rafferty.

Eastern Wyoming College monies this school year will be utilized to enhance coursework in criminal justice, agriculture, construction technology, and the new entrepreneurship program where it will be utilized to fund the salary for Earl Kisiel, the instructor, and for curriculum development.

Monies will be utilized to purchase equipment as well as for professional development opportunities for instructors in the targeted programs named above. Additionally, EWC will work with are high schools to develop stronger pathways for secondary students to encourage their enrollment in post-secondary education.

EWC career and technical education students will have the opportunity to participate in a job exposition with regional business and industry leaders. Prior to that exposition, students will learn resume standards, proper application procedures and practice interviewing procedures.

Students will also have full access to the EWC Learning Skills Lab, which focuses on helping students achieve academic success through working with tutors, in study groups, and learning study skills. An online tutoring system will also be available.

The purpose of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act (“Perkins Act”) is to provide federal funds to fully develop the academic, vocational, and technical skills of secondary and post-secondary students who elect to enroll in vocational and technical education programs.

The Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) Rodeo Team opened the 2009-10 rodeo season with a bareback championship at the Chadron State College Rodeo this past weekend. Freshman Wyatt Clark, of Wellfleet, Neb., won the first round with a score of 78 and was second in the short round with a 72 to win the average in the bareback riding.

Clark comes to Eastern Wyoming College as the reigning National Little Britches Rodeo Association World Champion Bareback Rider and All-Around Cowboy. He is also a two-time state champion bareback rider for the Nebraska High School Rodeo Association.

“It is great to see Wyatt start off his college career with a great performance,” Eastern Wyoming College Rodeo Coach Jake Clark said. “He has been working real hard in this event and it showed this weekend.”

Team ropers Stephanie Newman, a freshman from Melstone, Mont. and Logan McDonald, of Hemingford, Neb. won second in the average and second in the short round. In the steer wrestling, freshman Troy Wilcox, of Red Owl, South Dakota placed fourth place in the first round.

Cody Sierks, of Brewster, Neb. placed third in the first round and sixth in the average in the bull riding. “Cody has had a great summer riding bulls and it seems to be leading right in to the college rodeos” said Clark.

“We had a lot of the women’’s team members finish just short of a short round qualification,” Clark said. “They are practicing hard. It will be exciting to watch them excel this fall.” The EWC Lancer Rodeo Team will compete at the Central Wyoming College Rodeo in Riverton Sept. 18-20.

Eastern Wyoming College recently added a student portal called LancerNet. This portal allows students to have an EWC email account, to communicate with other students and faculty, and to receive email and text messages in an emergent situation.

The College will also use LancerNet for campus news and announcements, and it will provide a method for on-line interaction with clubs. Students will also have access to online forums and chats. One of the nicest tools available will be a calendar that combines all activities, but gives students the option to filter down to see only the information they choose. Another new feature, Lancer Alert, is a campus-wide text alert system for emergencies.

LancerNet is accessible through the home page on the EWC website at ewc.wy.edu. This tool will be especially beneficial for students located in the outreach areas and will allow those students access to many of the same campus services as on-campus students.

EThe partnership between Eastern Wyoming College the Wyoming Department of Corrections became even strong this past week as individuals from the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution (WMCI) began operating out of temporary offices located on the main campus in Torrington. There are a total of eleven WMCI employees who will be working out of offices at EWC until October 15.

“I am grateful to Dr. Armstrong and the EWC staff for the privilege and opportunity to temporarily work out of EWC. I think this is just the beginning of a great partnership between Eastern Wyoming College and the Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution,” shared WMCI Warden Michael Murphy. “The EWC staff has been very friendly, gracious, and helpful in getting us set up and oriented to the college.”

A total of fifteen WMCI employees are stationed in Torrington; eleven are located at EWC. Persons interested in employment can contact the WMCI personnel office located at the WDOC Field Services Office at 1610 East M Street, Torrington, Wyoming; telephone 307.575.6969 or 307.575.6970.

EWC and the WDOC have worked together in the past on several joint ventures; including a current project that involves the College’s mobile welding lab. It is currently stationed in Newcastle at the Wyoming Honor Conservation/Boot Camp where shielded metal arc welding training is taking place.

Another exciting example of this partnership involves EWC Criminal Justice Instructor Dr. Rick Patterson. Dr. Patterson is currently on a sabbatical for one year. During this time he is working with the WDOC providing training and observing the opening of the WMCI in Torrington.

“Eastern Wyoming College understands its role in providing appropriate training and educational opportunities for the new prison’s multiple constituencies: correctional officers and staff, inmates, and relatives present in the community. Understanding some inherent and structural limitations, we will be open, innovative, and flexible. Creative funding is critical to establish efficient programming. Both Warden Murphy and Deputy Warden Mike Pacheco are excellent leaders with energy and vision; we all have the opportunity to make a difference in shaping lives and make a difference in our community,” added EWC President Dr. Tom Armstrong about the partnership.

The WMCI temporary offices are located in the Tebbet building in room 132.

Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) has been awarded a $15,000 IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE) grant through the University of Wyoming INBRE Network. Sponsored by the National Institute of Health Institutional Development, the grant is designed to offer valuable experience in research and to encourage students to consider a career in the biomedical field. INBRE also includes efforts to provide research opportunities for undergraduates at UW and the state’s community colleges through scholarships and technology upgrades.

According to EWC Biology Instructor Tina Christinck, principal investigator, the EWC INBRE proposal is based on a research project that will focus on extracting DNA from several sagebrush species that grow in eastern Wyoming. Students will follow the necessary steps to send the DNA to a facility to sequence common housekeeping genes from the plants’ DNA using the model available from Bio-Rad. This information about the sagebrush genome can be published in a DNA database called GenBank.

Christinck will be developing curriculum that will be part of a course for majors in biology or pre-professional studies. This will enable the science instructors at EWC to assess the research and critical thinking skills of graduates more efficiently and accurately.

“We plan to give students hands-on experience with modern molecular biology research equipment and techniques. This will aid in our assessment process and open some doors for scholarship and research opportunities for our students as they transfer to a four-year institution,” she said.

NABT (National Association of Biology Teachers) will host a conference in Denver, Colorado in November which Christinck will attend. “This will be a valuable resource as I develop curriculum that is tailored to meeting the unique needs of students at EWC. Hopefully the curriculum will meet the needs of not only biology and pre-professional students, but will be useful to students involved in the EWC Range and Wildlife Management Club as well,” she stated.

Christinck will also travel to Montana with other Wyoming INBRE investigators this month to attend the Western Region COBRE-INBRE Scientific Conference.

Dr. R. Scott Seville, Associate Dean in the Outreach School and Associate Professor of Zoology and Physiology UW-Casper College, is the Wyoming INBRE Program Coordinator and oversees undergraduate education and mentoring programs at UW and Wyoming’s seven community colleges. INBRE initiatives include developing greater collaboration with other western INBRE programs such as graduate and undergraduate exchange programs, a western regional consortium, collaborative cross-institutional courses, and enhanced access to core facilities across the region.